Rhyme in Titus Andronicus
T. S. Eliot once remarked that Shakespeare’s first tragedy, Titus Andronicus, was “one of the stupidest and most uninspired plays ever written”. However, Shakespeare’s use of rhetoric in this play is anything but “stupid” or “uninspired,” for it heightens the tragic elements of the action through a sophisticated orchestration of rhyme throughout the script that cleverly mirrors the complex plot of the play.
Shakespeare’s erratic placement of rhyme in the first four acts of Titus belies the importance of its structured use in act 5. With the exception of four rhyming groups in the script, rhyming couplets in Titus are separated by anywhere from 12 to 114 lines. Rhyme in general is relatively effortless to hear, and most audiences can easily perceive the interspersed couplets throughout Titus; however, the erratic placement of rhyme in the play denies audiences the opportunity to reflect on how it affects them. This, coupled with the infrequency of the rhyme (only 5%—120 lines of 2,621—rhyme), teases audiences and all listeners with rhyming verse in order to prepare them for its more structured use in 5.3.
Because of the paucity of rhyme in the first four acts of the play, its abrupt emergence in the final scene of Titus is extremely important when Titus’s revenge is realized. During the banquet portion of the scene, 15 rhyming lines join in harmony and embody the most lyrical lines in the entire play. Auditors have experienced the erratic placement of rhyme in Titus up to this point. When they suddenly encounter these 15 structured, rhyming lines, they cannot help but recognize the unique importance of the scene. Clearly, because rhyme affects emotions, the rhyme in this scene heightens awareness of the action in the play. Interestingly, many of the rhyming couplets in this final scene are shared between characters, forever joining them in their last moments in the play: Saturninus has three shared rhyming lines with Titus and one with Lucius, for example, while Titus has one shared rhyming line with Tamora. In fact, the characters most involved in the power struggle throughout the play become entangled in the rhyme, seemingly in rhetorical competition with each other as they vie for power. The rhyme sequence begins with Saturninus, who took power away from Titus (as is demonstrated with the first shared line). The shared lines throughout this sequence then show the power struggle evident in the entire play, culminating with the final shared lines that illustrate the power shift from Saturninus to Lucius. The rhyme in this scene mirrors the onstage action. In one of the most shocking scenes in the play, as Tamora unknowingly consumes her children, the rhyme’s melody coupled with its unifying characteristics in contrast to the horrific events that transpire onstage make the scene as rhetorically distressing as it is emotionally draining.
Believe or not, you will be attracted by some Cartier Panthere Replica you have never imagined. Now buy Replica Cartier Panthere Full 18K Gold White Dial SS Band Diamond Bezel for a gift, for your family and your friend.
Processing your request, Please wait....
